THE JOURNAL OF JOHN WILLIAMS OF CARDIFF - A MILITIAMAN IN 1798-1800THE JOURNAL OF JOHN WILLIAMS OF CARDIFF - A GLAMORGAN MILITIAMAN IN 1798-1800

This is a printed copy of the entries in a handmade pocket diary kept by John Williams of Cardiff, 3 x great grandfather of Dilys Xavier.

He recorded the route taken by the Royal Glamorgan Militia from Cardiff to Ireland and back in 1798-1800. It is of the route ONLY.

It is remarkably clean for its age, and measures about two and a half inches by three and a half. It is written in beautiful handwriting in black ink, but is illegible in places. Each line printed below took up a whole page of his diary.

As for some of the place names listed, your guess is as good as mine. I apologise for any mistakes in the copying. The Welsh at the bottom was even more difficult to decipher, and was added in 1857, 59 years later. The handwriting looks very different from that in the beginning, probably due to the passage of time.

The original is in the possession of Dilys Xavier to whom I am indebted for letting me put her transcript on the Internet. I have a photocopy of the original by kind permission of Dilys.

The diary reads :-

"This is a Journal of John Williams in May 1798 ... ??.... Company Royal Glamorgan Militia from his Leaving home.
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